Piston-ring gage



JAMES R. LOUDEN, F UTICA, NEW YORK.

PISTON-RING GAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State result is supposed of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piston-Ring Gages; and I do hereby declare that'the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art .to which it appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the reference numerals marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My present invention relates to piston ring gages.

The piston rings of explosive engines are supposed to be so adjusted that when the engine is working at normal temperatures the piston rings will be gas-tight without being grinding-tight upon the cylinder. This to be effected'by having the adjacent ends of the split piston ring a given number of thousandths of an inch apart when the rings are cold and set into the cylinder. The extent of clearance be tween the ends should also differ according to whether the ring is the upper or lower ring of the piston and so subject to different expansion due to the different degree of heat to which it is subjected when the engine is operating. Heretofore it has been very difiicult to obtain the required nicety of adjustment when the car is first assem 'bled at the factory and especially when being repaired. at a garage or by the owner himself. The mainreason for this difficulty of adjustment is that the piston rings have to be adjusted to the size of the individual cylinder in which they are to be used and furthermore to the portion of the cylinder in which they will operate. hen the engine is new the adjustment maybe made roughly by placing the piston rings-in the lower endof the cylinder. Adjustment in this way, however, is apt to be inaccurate for the reason of there being no positive means for holding the adjacent ends of the split piston ring in alinement. When, the engine has been used and its cylinders have become worn the piston rings must be adjuste-d for the used portion, instead of the lower end of the cylinders. Heretofore this has been done by placing the piston? ring the required distance up in the cylinder.

This tends toinaccuracy for the reason that Patented June 7,- i921.

there is no positive means for holding the ends of the cylinder ring in alinement and.

the testing has to be done in such an ZlWkr ward position, namely, a considerable disstance up inside the cylinder, that the workman is not apt to get the clearance between the piston ring ends accurately measured. The difficulty is further increased by the fact that the ordinary split piston ring has its ends shaped with opposite bevels so that the true clearance cannot be seen from below and the use of a thickness gage is further handicapped.

-It is the purpose of my invention to provide a gage for piston rings which will over-come the difiiculties above mentioned and which is simple and durable in construction and ellicient, accurate and very convenient in use.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide an article of the class described which maybe accurately set to the exact diameter of the cylinder to which the piston rings. are to be fitted and which will provide means for positively holding the piston ring ends in alinement and which further will afford convenient oppoitunity for accurately determining the distance between the ends of the piston ring; and still further to provide a gage of such construction and operation that the piston ring may be readily placed therein or removed therefrom thus allowing the testing to be rapidly made and also allowing the piston ring to be removed and re-placed as often as 1'6".

in order to get the desired clearance." 1

Another object of my invention is to provide a gage of the class described of such construction and operation that it may be adjusted within'its range of sizes without distorting the circular form of the gage and further to have the gage of such adjustability that one size of gage can be used .for a considerable range of sizes of cylinders.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a piston ring gage embodying my invention. I

'Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the gage shown as seen from the side having the adjusting. screw.

Fig. 4 is a plan piston ring gage embodying a modified form of my invention.- I

view of about half of a" ,of just above described trative of the preferred ticular descriptii'\ri1t will be seen that the cularity of the gage.

It will be understoo d that the piston ring 9 that is to be tested'will be placed'into the gage ring from the top as the gage is illustrated in. the drawings; and will 'fit closelyiandi accurately aga nst the inner measuring jsurface l0. Imnriediately below said measuringsurface tl ere provided means for holding the piston} ring even with measuring surface -10 placingof the piston ets ex'tends the -shank:of lGJ rhichhas N that the screw-threaded .jmrtionslanti will lie the lower side at erably-be rounded off with oppositely di engages a. nut-18 on the otherbracket l fij The screw 16 will pref- "erably be provided with a head 19 1 upon its edge'and (if-sufficient diameter so i 45 The .ad'vanta e of thegagmthat is thesame distance down in the gage, and also for holding the ends 9 and 9" of thepiston ring accuratelyin alinement. The preferred form of said means comprises an inwardly extending rib 11 upon thering immetliately below the fiaroviding' an up 12 against which the piston ring 9. the ring 5 will prefas to slo-peinwardly rder to facilitate the ring within the gage. the slot 6 the ring 5 wardly facing] shoulder? The upper. edge 130 as it goes down: in

Slightly back from )osed oiitwardly extendand 15. respectively. provided in these brackan adjusting screw a ,tixed collar 17 outside the bracket l4 Whild its screw threaded portion outer side of the 1 will have its opposyifeends 7 and 8 provided mg brackets] It hrough apertures knurled that the gage may be readily and accurately set tothedes red size. [It will be obvious ad ustment of the ends 7 and 8;of the ring through the pm:

jecting brackets lel and 15 may be obtained in various ways and that the details thereare simply illuse form thereof. u y 3 y j .Ireferablythe slot 6 will be shaped substantially as shown,- that is, with its upper hg down as then extendi g straight. through the ring.

t allows the operator to place the piston ring with its beveled ends inthe piston gage so that said eveled ends will project over thesloto and paralleltherewith thus fa-- cilitating the use of thlc means Of aCCt/I kness gages or other rately measuring the dlstance between the ejnds of the piston ring.

The

.and into a yet maintain the cir-- I j to which it maybe set and COHVQIIIGIlt far as the rib I1 andv this arrangement is that- In order that-the gage may maintain its ends in alinement and so hold a piston ring therein in alinement, there is pro ided preferably positively operating means consisting of a. tongue 20 of thering and projecting across the slot 6 groove 21 on the other end 7. Preferably this tongue and .groove will be provided upon the inner surface of the ring 5. The lower edge of rib 11 will then form one side of groove 21 and the lower side of said groove will be provided with the upper edge of the rib the ring '5. It will be understood that the tongue-20 is shaped to conform to the circle of the ring so as not to interfere with the .rigidly secured to one end as 8' 22 near the lower edge of circularity of the gage ring at the different outer surface of the ring thus leaving one side of the ring thick and with opposite sides tapering down thinncr as they approach the side opposite to the'thiclc side. The thick side as 23 will be diametrically opposite to the slot 6 and the ring will gradually taper to less-thickness as itapproaches the said slot 6. In this 'way the bending or contracting action due to screw 16 will be greater upon the thin portions and gradually decreases as the contraction is extended about the circle thus resulting in a perfect circle being maintained at all positions to which the gage is adjusted. l

The modificationshown in Fig. 4 consists in having the main ring 5 of the same thickness at all points about the ring instead of tapering to be gradually thinner toward the slot of the ring. In this modified form the circularity of the gage at different sizes is maintained by inserting within the ring 5 a separate spring 2l-torming nearly a. complete circle and thickest away from the slot 6 of the gage and gradually decreasing in thickness as it approaches the slot. This'spring 24 thus has greater stiffness away from the slot and becomes more resilient as it approaches the slot and so allows the ring 5 to be drawn together under the tension of the ad j usting.

the rib 22. Itwill be not wider than said tightening up the adjusting 24 may be placed in the rib so as not to interfere with the gage being placed upon the workbench and so as not to have said spring interfere with or bind against the alining tongue 20. In order to more clearly show the formation of the spring 24: the piston ring is omitted from the drawing in Flg. 4.

In operation the user will ascertain accurately as by calipers or micrometer the diameter of the cylinder in which the piston ring is to be used and then will by similar means adjust the diameter of the piston ring gage to the same size by proper-rotation of the screw 16. The piston ring ,will then be placed in the gage so as to rest upon the shoulder 12. Preferably as already suggested the piston ring will be so placed in the gage that its beveled ends will project from either side out across the slot 6. The user will the successively measure and trim down the en s of the piston ring until there is the desired clearance between them. During this operation the piston ring may be removed as often as desired and be placed again in the gage without the gage losing the adjustment that has been made thereof.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

l. A piston ring gage comprising a split ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity and adjusting means connected to the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and positively hold it at desired size, theinterior face of said ring being adapted to receive a split piston ring and temporarlly contract the same to the diameter of the measuring inner surface of the gage whereby the space between the ends ofthe piston ring may be accurately measured.

2. A piston ring gage comprising a split ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity and screwthreaded adjusting means connected to the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and positively hold it at desired size, the interior face of said ring being adapted to receive the split piston ring and temporarily contract the same to the diameter of the measuring inner surface of the gage whereby the space between the ends of the piston ring may be accurately measured.

3. A piston ring gage comprising a split ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity, adjusting means connected to the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and holdit at desired size, the interior face ofsa-id ring being adapted toreceive a split piston ring and temporarily contract the same to the diameter of the measuring inner surface of the gage and means adapted to keep the opposite ends opposite ends of the piston ring in aline-' ment.

5. A ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity, adjusting means connected to the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and holdit at desired size, the interior face of said ring being adapted to receive a split piston ring and temporarily contract the same to the diameter of the measuringinner surface of the gage ring and means to keep the opposite ends of the gage ring in alinement in all positions.

'6. A piston ring gage comprising a split ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity, adjusting means connected to the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and hold it at desired size, the interior face of said ring being adapted to receive itspiston ring and temporarily piston ring gage comprising a split contract the same to the diameter of the measuring inner surface of. the gage ring and a cooperating mortise and tenon on opposite ends of the gage ring adapted to keep said gage ring ends in alinement at all positions.

7. A piston ring ring adapted to be contracted circumferentially and maintain its circularity, adjusting means connected to' the ends of the ring to so contract the ring and hold it at desired size, the interior face of said ring being gage; comprising a split adapted to receive its piston ring and temv porarily contract the same to the diameter of the measuring inner surface of the gage ring, means to keep the opposite ends of the gage ring in alinement at its different positions'a'nd means adapted to keep the oppo-' 

